- Actors: Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper
- Director: Dominic Savage
- Disc Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: IFC Independent Film
- DVD Release Date: August 14, 2018
- Run Time: 101 minutes
Despite a title
that sounds like a thriller or action vehicle of some sort, The Escape is as minimalistic as
filmmaking gets. It is a character study that only allows us an outside view of
the character. Although we spend nearly all of the running time with a single
character, it is possible to get to the end of the film without having much
insight into what is going on internally. The
Escape is singularly focused on the depression of a mother and wife in
London, but it only allows the audience a surface view of the emotional distress,
and the result is often less than sympathetic.
Tara (Gemma
Arterton) is a frazzled housewife in suburban London, struggling to come to
terms with the feelings of entrapment that her life of routine and boredom
bring. Although it isn’t verbalized adequately through the screenplay, Arterton’s
performance makes it clear that Tara is overwhelmed by the constant attention
her children and husband seem to demand from her. Even though the worst thing
her husband (Dominic Cooper) can be accused of is obliviousness, we are meant
to sympathize with Tara’s desire for freedom over her husband’s longing for
answers.
The Escape has little empathy for the husband’s
struggles within the narrative, making him an odd balance of demanding and
detached. At moments he seems to smother her with affection, oblivious to the
looks of revulsion in his wife’s face. Even when she cries during sex, he is
somehow unaware. But the film also chooses to go down a cliché path of marital
infidelity, despite a lack of affection never seeming to be the problem with
Tara’s marriage. But then again, we never truly know what the problems are
inside of Tara’s head, and the resolution of this situation is as ambiguous as the
reasons for her depression. Perhaps that is the point. In providing the
audience with few details, it allows audience members to utilize their own
emotional experiences/baggage in the interpretation.
The Escape is not a fast-paced film.
Often director Dominic Savage seems to be putting the audience through an
endurance test of monotony and annoyance. The more we are forced to endure the
demandingly dull routine demanded of Tara and the more the soundtrack is filled
with the sound of her ceaselessly screaming baby, the more we begin to understand
the desire for escape. Unfortunately, it also resulted in a desire to stop watching
the movie, and that is a desire that was not overcome by the resolution of the
narrative.
The DVD has a behind-the-scenes
featurette, interviews with the cast and filmmaker, and a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
4/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Special Features: 3.5/10
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